Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games

By Melissa Dafni

As much as I wish I could say otherwise, there really isn't much for me to say about this weekend. The same Mammoth offense showed up with the result being identical to every other game this season save one. Friday night, the Mammoth defense played on par with the offense and needless to say, the Washington Stealth made them pay.

But, when your defense spends the majority of the time on the floor, your goalies face a total of 64 shots and your defense is playing exhausted trying to stop some of the best offensive talent in the league, is it any surprise the Mammoth got their butts whooped?

No, it really isn't.

I've said it elsewhere, but the Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don't care who you are, where you've played, what accolades you've received or what trophies you've won. If you're not scoring, there are issues. If you can't play hard for four quarters, or play as a team, or actually play intelligently, then sit your ass down.

Some people speculate we have too many egos on the team. Some think it's a lack or issue of leadership. Fans are certainly calling for firings all the way from top with GM Steve Govett down to everyone on the bench and everywhere in between.

Maybe they're right. Maybe they're wrong.

What I see is an offense more interested in the name on their back than what's on the front trying to be heroes and since everyone is trying to be a hero, no one is doing jack shit.

On paper, we have one of the most talented teams in the league. Unfortunately, that's not what wins games.

We have the most stagnant predictable offense I think I have ever seen. Occasionally we get lucky and score which probably reinforces this bad play, but it's no wonder we can't score half the time when the goalie doesn't have to work to block it nor the defense to keep our guys away from the net. If your fans, many of which have never played the game and are only slightly knowledgeable, know where and when you're going to shoot, than the defense who has years of experience probably does too.

Usually teams get better as the season progresses, but this one seems to be getting worse. When a team is given multiple 5:3 opportunities and still can't score, you really need to take a step back and ask yourself why. This is one issue I put squarely on the Mammoth as the issue versus their opponents doing that great of a job.